The walls of the court feel like a cage too small for one man, let alone a kingdom.
It would not be so bad if he could feel the moonlight on his back and breathe deeply the crisp night air of the desert. It would not be so bad if he were not bone-tired and half-mad. But the weather has trapped him inside and the magic has stripped away his energy and the thinking is like ants streaming out from the earth-- you watch for some time and you wonder- when will they stop? But they keep emerging and spreading and there is no stop. You know that if you close your eyes for just a moment they take you over too so you stand there transfixed and watch them pour out from the dirt, a river of legs, consuming everything, and--
"You look half dead, Eik."
Before he can fix his attention on her, a memory carries him away. The sky was that deep blue color, soul blue, not a cloud in sight to spare them from the beating sun. Struck by some strange thought, he told Rhoswen he was a ghost.
Why did he tell her he was a ghost?
His eyes focus on the mare who spoke. Teiran. He blinks. "Lose me..." Eik does not seem to understand, at first. A small frown curls at his lips and it makes him seem oddly boyish. He had not ever thought that his absence would be considered a loss to anyone. When she bumps her shoulder against him, his skin does not feel like his own. A shiver silently rolls down his spine.
"Is it possible any of the ones caught in the blizzard will survive?" His attention is not very good at staying focused on himself. A weight moment passes before he adds, voice quiet and strained as though sharing a confession, "When I close my eyes, I see them."
Eik lied that day, beneath the soul blue sky. He did not realize it until much later-- Until now. He is not the ghost, but the haunted.
- - -
There is no better way to know us
E I K
than as two wolves, come separately to a wood
@Teiran <3
Time makes fools of us all
